The present invention relates to a monitoring and alerting system for luggage and more particularly pertains to alerting an individual that their luggage is being moved without their consent.
The theft of luggage from airports and other heavy traffic areas has become a more frequent occurrence. Many travelers carry multiple pieces of luggage with them while they are traveling. Often, they cannot keep their eyes on each piece of luggage they have at all times. Thus, it becomes easy for a thief to walk away with the traveler""s luggage.
The present invention seeks to provide a means of alerting a traveler that their luggage beyond a predetermined range from them whereby an audible and visual alert would be triggered at both the traveler and the luggage when the traveler is separated, to stop the theft from continuing.
To some extent, the use of monitoring devices is known in the prior art. More specifically, monitoring devices heretofore devised and utilized for the purpose of monitoring the location of personal belongings are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,598,272 to Cox discloses a device capable of monitoring an article or child, and sounding an alarm if a threshold distance is exceeded. U.S. Pat. No. 5,661,460 to Sallen discloses a system for monitoring the distance between a parent unit and child unit by change in phase of a reference RF signal. U.S. Pat. No. 5,640,144 to Russo discloses a device for the prevention of the loss of an article, comprised of an ultrasonic transmitter capable of triggering an alarm if a predetermined distance is exceeded. U.S. Pat. No. 5,214,410 to Verster discloses a system for locating a number of objects using a plurality of label-like transponders. U.S. Pat. No. 5,617,074 to White discloses a transmitter concealingly attached to a child for locating lost children.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,629,677 to Staino, Jr. discloses an apparatus for locating a pair of eyeglasses. However, Staino provides a locating signal xe2x80x9cupon the manual activation of the signaling mechanismxe2x80x9d. Thus, Staino would not automatically notify the user that the eyeglasses have been separated from the owner, unless the owner is already looking for them.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,402,104 to LaRosa discloses a scanning excessive separation alarm. However, LaRosa provides no mechanism for determining that a wrongdoer has removed its asset protection transponder from the item of personal property. Thus, LaRosa will not sound an alarm if the thief detaches the transponder from the property and removes the property.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objective and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not describe a monitoring and alerting system for luggage for alerting an individual that their luggage is being moved without their consent.
In this respect, the monitoring and alerting system for luggage according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of alerting an individual that their luggage is being moved without their consent.
Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for new and improved monitoring and alerting system for luggage which can be used for alerting an individual that their luggage is being moved without their consent. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.
In the view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of people monitoring devices now present in the prior art, the present invention provides an improved monitoring and alerting system for luggage. As such, the general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new and improved monitoring and alerting system for luggage and method which has all the advantages of the prior art and none of the disadvantages.
To attain this, the present invention essentially comprises a monitoring and alerting system for luggage including a master unit and a plurality of slave units. Each slave unit has a unique identity. The master unit and slave units each have a status display having numbered indicia which normally displays the numbered indicia for the slave units in a first color, and has an annunciator. When the master unit and slave units are separated by a predetermined distance, an alert condition is established whereby the numbered indicia for that slave unit changes to a second color and both the master unit and slave unit sound an alert with their annunciators. A wire loop may be used to attach the slave units to luggage, which normally maintains a closed circuit, such that if the wire loop is removed from the luggage and becomes open circuited while the slave unit is on, the alert condition is established.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved monitoring and alerting system for luggage which has all the advantages of the prior art people monitoring devices and none of the disadvantages.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved monitoring and alerting system for luggage which may be easily and efficiently manufactured and marketed.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new and improved monitoring and alerting system for luggage which is of durable and reliable construction.
An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved monitoring and alerting system for luggage which is susceptible of a low cost of manufacture with regard to both materials and labor, and which accordingly is then susceptible of low prices of sale to the consuming public, thereby making such a monitoring and alerting system for luggage economically available to the buying public.
Even still another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved monitoring and alerting system for luggage for alerting an individual that their luggage is being moved without their consent.
These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various features of novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there is illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.